DVD Disasters
by Alexa Twitch
Summary: This is the very strange account of what happened to four girls and a DVD Player. I own nothing cept the OC characters!
1. Chapter 1

Part 1

**Part 1**

_This is the very strange account of what happened to four girls. First, I should probably tell you about these four girls._

**Katie** is the oldest and definitely the wisest. She looks out for the group. With a tendency to be shy, the other girls try their best to keep her in the limelight.

**Abby** is the actress. She's what you get when logic and randomness collide. Although she tries to think logically, she's willing to accept life's little quirks.

**Erica** is the bubbly one. Though sometimes spacey, she always puts a smile on everyone's face. She's the one who run's into troublesome situations, but with her friend's she can handle anything.

**Etta** is the youngest, though she doesn't look it. With her sarcasm and wit she keeps everyone laughing. She's perfectly capable of stirring up trouble and things are even better when she's with her buddies.

_It all started with a strange looking DVD player…_

"Erica! Etta! Katie! It's time for the movie to start!" Abby called.

Katie pulled the popcorn out of the microwave and inhaled the aroma.

"Yum… Ok coming!" Katie called back. "Erica can you grab the soda?"

"Yessery Bobbitt." She replied, getting odd looks from everyone.

"Yessery- what?!"

"It's my new word." Erica seemed very proud of herself.

"Just grab the soda."

"Right."

The three came into the living room and flopped down on the air mattress. It was movie night at Abby's house, something the four friends had been looking forward to all week. Tonight's movie was National Treasure.

"Ok so… popcorn, soda, and movies." Abby brushed her brown locks out of her eyes. "I think we're good."

"Put the movie in!" Erica said.

"Yeah. C'mon." Katie agreed.

"Okey dokey."

"What's up with your DVD player?" Etta asked.

"I dunno. But it's cool looking isn't it? I bought from Creepy Old Guy."

"At the pawn shop?"

"What other Creepy Old Guy do you know? It was only 15."

"I can't believe you bought a DVD player from Creepy Old Guy." Katie shook her head and laughed. "I mean, he's _creepy_."

"Nah. Really?" Etta laughed sarcastically.

"Whatever. I got a DVD player for 15." Abby pushed in the movie and flopped down on the bed.

They saw a strange flicker swipe across the screen. The flicker began to grow into a bright light.

"Ooo. It's shiny." Erica said.

"What's going on?" Katie asked nervously.

"I dunno, but I don't think its part of the feature presentation." Abby said, grabbing onto Katie's arm.

Suddenly there was a flash of blinding light.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

**Part 2**

The girls were suddenly lying in a snow drift, freezing cold.

"Where are we?" asked Etta. She dusted snow off the grey ski jacket that had inexplicably replaced her blue Happy Bunny PJ's.

"I think… we're in the Arctic Circle." Abby replied, helping Katie up.

"What? Why would you say that?"

"Look." Etta pointed to a few feet away.

"What is it?" Katie asked.

"I think it's The Charlotte."

"But that would mean…"

"We're in the movie!" Erica cried in elation.

"Shhh!" Abby snapped grabbing the collar of her purple jacket and pulling her down from her ecstatic jump.

"This is your fault!" Katie said.

"How?!" Abby snapped.

"You bought the DVD player from Creepy Old Guy."

"So?"

"Hello? Creepy. Old. Guy. It was probably cursed or something!"

"Oh come on! That only happens in movies and fan fictions." Abby said.

"Well it's happening now!" Etta pointed out.

"Do I look older to you?" Erica asked suddenly. And honestly she did, they all did. They all looked around 26 years old.

"Sweet!" Etta said.

"Sweet? This is crazy!" Katie exclaimed.

"Dude we have to be about _ten years_ older, I find that sweet."

"Ok guys before we do anything, we have to agree, no screwing with the movie. No quoting lines, unless we're helping. No mentioning things that haven't happened yet. Otherwise they'll think we're crazy. Deal?" Abby said.

"Umm… Abby?"

"Yes Erica?"

"We _are_ crazy."

"Yes but not clinically."

"Um… do you guys remember any of the lines?" Katie asked.

They thought on it but truthfully, they could only remember the plot and the characters of the movie but not any of the lines or what happened.

"Looks like we don't have to worry about that." Etta said.

"Hey Ben!" A new voice joined in, "There are… people here."

They saw someone poke their head over the edge of the ship.

"Hey there!" Etta called.

"Hello, I'm Katie." She said, shaking hands with Ben. "That's Erica, Etta, and Abby."

"Hi." Abby said waving nervously. Being a big fan of movies, she was slightly in awe to be in the presence of Nicolas Cage, Sean Bean, and Justin Bartha. She had always been attracted to Justin Bartha but in a never-gonna-happen fan-girl way. He's a thirty-year-old, famous actor and she's a 16-year-old community theater patron. Now she was in front of him, older and ever so available.

"Ben Gates, Ian Howe, and Riley Poole."

"Nice to meet you."

"Is this… The Charlotte?" Abby asked, easily slipping into actress mode.

"How did you know that?"

"What can I say, I'm interested in history. This is so cool… wait… Ben _Gates_? Your family has that theory about the treasure."

"Yeah."

"It's an honor. See, my dad told me about the legend when I was a kid. And my friends and I… we researched the legend. Right guys?"

"Mhmm." Katie said. Etta nodded in agreement.

"I had nothing better to do." Erica said.

"It's great to meet another person that believes the treasure's real." Ben said.

"I found a way in!" Shippen shouted.

"Do you mind if we join you?" Abby asked.

"I don't see why not." Ben said, despite Ian's slight glare.

They all filed down into the belly of the ship. Riley peeked at one of the hammocks and, finding a body, jumped backwards knocking down Abby, Etta, and Katie consecutively.

"You handled that well." Ben said.

"Human dominos!" Erica said, grinning.

"Sorry." Riley said, helping them up.

"It's no problem." Abby said, biting back laughter. She'd forgotten that part.

"It's the cargo hold." Ben said. Leading them into another room.

"Is it in the barrels?" Riley asked.

"Gun powder." Ian corrected.

"Why would the captain be guarding this barrel?" Etta heard Ben ask. The girls watched as Ben carefully removed the pipe. He held it in a reverent manner, Katie noticed, as though it were made of glass.

"What is it?"

"It's a pipe." Ben replied.

"Is it a billion dollar pipe?"

"It's a meerschaum pipe." Ian said. "It's beautiful."

"Look at the intricacy of the scroll work on the stem."

"Is it a million dollar pipe?" Riley ventured again. Abby laughed.

"I wouldn't bet on it."

"No… It's a clue. We are one step closer to the treasure, gentlemen…and ladies."

"I thought you said the treasure would be on The Charlotte."

"I said the treasure might be on The Charlotte."

"This is good too." Katie said.

"Ah! Don't break it!"

"Chill Mr. Poole." Abby said.

"Riley." He corrected.

"Riley." Abby said softly.

Behind her, she heard Etta snort and she sent a glare her way. Looking back, she saw Ben rolling the blood stem on a piece of paper.

"The legend writ,

The stain affected,

The key in Silence, undetected.

55 in iron pen.

Mr. Matlack can't offend." He read aloud.

"Sounds like a riddle." Erica mused.

"Nah, really?" Etta snarked.

"I need to think. The legend writ, the stain affected. What legend? There is the legend of the Templar treasure; the stain affects the legend. The key in Silence undetected. Wait. The legend and the key... Now there's something. A map. Maps have legends, maps have keys. It's a map, an invisible map."

"Wait a minute. What do you mean invisible? An invisible map?" Ian asked.

"The stain affected could refer to a dye or a reagent used to bring about a certain result, combined with the key in silence undetected." Katie clarified.

"Right." Ben agreed. "The implication is to make what was undetectable, detectable. Unless the key in silence could be…"

"Prison." Shaw said suddenly.

"Albuquerque. See, I can do it too. Snorkel." Riley replied. Abby laughed.

"It's where the map is. Like you said, 55 in iron pen. Iron pen is a prison."

"Or, it could be since the primary writing medium of the time was iron gall ink, the pen is… just a pen. Then why not say a pen, why say iron pen?"

"Because it's a prison." He muttered.

"No it really isn't." Etta replied. Shaw glared.

"It's ok," Erica said. "I believe you."

"Maybe…maybe the ink does not describe the pen, it describes what was penned." Abby offered helpfully.

"That makes sense. It was iron, it was firm. It was mineral. No, no, no, no. It was firm, it was adamant, it was resolved. It was resolved. Mr. Matlack can't offend…"

"What are you looking for, Erica?"

"The light bulb above his head. He realized something."

"Timothy Matlack was the official scribe of the Continental Congress. Calligrapher, not writer. And to make sure he could not offend the map, it was put on the back of a resolution that he transcribed, a resolution that 55 men signed. The Declaration of Independence."

"Come on. There's no invisible map on the back of the Declaration of Independence." Riley said.

"He's got a point." Katie agreed.

"Clever, really. A document of that importance would ensure the map's survival. And you said several masons signed it, yeah?' Ian asked.

"Yeah, nine for sure." Ben nodded.

"We'll have to arrange a way to examine it."

"We can't just go and run chemicals tests on the Declaration." Etta said.

"She's right."

"Then what do you propose we do?"

"I don't know!" Ben said exasperated.

"We could borrow it."

"Steal it?" Erica asked, amused.

"Yeah that a great idea." Etta said sarcastically.

"I don't think so." Ben said.

"Ben, the treasure of Knights Templar is the treasure of all treasures."

"I didn't know that, really?"

"God is everyone on this bloody ship sarcastic? Look, Ben, we all have our areas of expertise. You don't think mine is limited to writing checks, do you? I've arranged a number of operations of… questionable legality."

"There's a surprise…" Etta muttered.

"I'm not going to let you steal the Declaration of Independence." Ben said, standing up.

"Me either." Katie agreed.

"Yeah." Erica said jumping up off her place on a barrel.

"I can see from this point on, all you're going to be is a hindrance." Ian said as Shaw drew his gun.

"Never mind." Erica said, sitting back down. Nervously, Abby grabbed Katie's hand and pulled her back a few steps.

"What are you going to do? You going to shoot me Shaw? Well you can't shoot me. There's more to the riddle. Information you don't have, I do. I'm the only one who can figure it out, you know that."

"You're bluffing."

"We play poker together, Ian. You know I can't bluff."

"Tell me what I need to know," Ian said, as Shaw pointed the gun at Riley. "Or I'll shoot your friend."

"Hey." He protested weakly.

"Leave him out of this."

"Quiet or he'll shoot."

Suddenly Ben grabbed a flare and lit it, startling Ian.

"Look where you're standing. All that gunpowder. You shoot me, I drop this, we all go up."

"Ben…" Abby said nervously.

"Tell me what I need to know."

"You need to know… if Shaw can catch!" He threw the flare. Ian caught it midair.

"Nice try, though, Ben." Ian smirked. Until, his sleeve caught on fire.

"Crap!" Etta cried, stumbling back.

"Pretty…"

"Erica!" Abby shouted.

"Over here!" Ben cried.

"What's this?" Riley asked.

"Smuggler's hold. Get in!" Ben shouted. "Follow me!"

The six of them charged down the tunnel and into another room. Ben barely closed the door when an explosion shook them all. Dragging themselves out of the wreckage, Etta shouted a few choice words at Ian's retreating vehicle. All of which concluded that he gave British people a bad name.

"Great. He blew up the ship AND he got the bloody pipe." Abby groaned.

"What do we do now?" Katie asked, obviously shook up but trying to stay calm all the same. Sometimes Abby was surprised at how shakable the tall, red head was.

"There's an Inuit village nine miles east of here."

"Right well. We'd better get moving then." Abby said. "Um… which direction would that be?"


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

**Part 3**

"Is it really so hard to believe that someone's going to steal the Declaration of Independence?" Riley asked as they left the FBI building.

"The FBI gets 10,000 tips a week. They aren't going to worry about something they're sure is safe." Ben replied.

"Yeah well they're gonna be sorry when the Declaration is gone." Katie huffed.

"That doesn't count for much right now, Katie." Etta said.

"What we need is someone that will help us." Abby stated, walking backwards so she could see all of them at once.

"Anyone who can do anything is going to think we're crazy. And anyone crazy enough to believe us isn't going to want to help." Riley pointed out.

"We don't need someone crazy. What's one step short of crazy?" Ben asked.

"Obsessed?" Riley guessed.

"Odd?" Erica tried.

"Erica?" Etta asked.

"Passionate." He replied.

Erica glared at Etta.

"That's so funny I almost forgot to laugh."

An hour later, they all sat in the office of Dr. Chase at the National Archives, flipping through old magazines. Well, everyone except Erica and Etta, who opted to wait in the car.

"Dr. Chase will see you now Mr. Brown." The assistant told them.

"Mr. Brown?" Katie asked.

"My family name doesn't get a lot of respect in the academic community." He explained.

"Oh…"

"So you're being kept down by the man." Riley said, nodding. Then he caught sight of the girl behind the desk. "Very cute man."

Katie and Abby stifled laughs.

"Good Afternoon. I'm Dr. Chase."

"Paul Brown." Ben said, shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you."

"Mary Freemont." Katie said.

"Grace McBride."

"Nice to meet you both."

"Bill." Riley piped up.

"Nice to meet you Bill." She said doubtfully.

"How can I help you?" Dr. Chase asked.

"Your accent? Pennsylvania Dutch?" Ben asked.

"Saxony-German."

"You're not American?" Riley asked.

"I am an American, I just wasn't born here. Please don't touch that."

"Sorry. Neat collection. George Washington campaign buttons. You're missing the 1789 inaugural though. I found one once."

"That's very fortunate for you." She replied unimpressed. "Now, you told my assistant this was an urgent matter."

"Yes ma'am. Well, I am going to get right to the point." He paused, looking directly at her. "Someone's going to steal the Declaration of Independence."

"It's true." Riley added and the two girls nodded in agreement.

"I think I better put you three in touch with the FBI." She said reaching for her phone.

"We've already been to the FBI." Katie said.

"And?"

"They assured us that the Declaration could not possibly be stolen."

"They're right."

"We're less certain. However, if we were given the privilege of examining the document, we would be able to tell you for certain if it were in any danger." Ben said.

"And what do you think you are going to find?"

"We believe there is an… encryption on the back."

"An encryption of what?"

"Uh… a cartograph."

"A map?"

"Yes ma'am."

"A map of what?"

"The location of hidden items of…" Ben shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "… historic and intrinsic value."

"A treasure map?"

"That's where we lost the FBI." Riley said.

"You're treasure hunters, aren't you?" Dr. Chase asked.

"We're more like treasure protectors." Ben said.

"Mr. Brown, I have personally seen the back of the Declaration of Independence, and I promise you the only thing there is a notation that reads 'original Declaration of Independence dated-"

"July 4th 1776." Ben finished. "Yes ma'am."

"But no map." Dr. Chase concluded.

There was a silence in the room. Riley looked at Ben an gave a small shrug as if to say, 'she already thinks we're crazy so go ahead.' Katie and Abby nodded in encouragement.

"It's invisible."

"Oh…"

"And that's where we lost the Dept. of Homeland Security." Riley said.

"What led you to assume there's this invisible map?"

"We found an engraving on the stem of a 200-year-old pipe." Ben said.

"Owned by Freemasons." Riley added.

"On a ship that we inadvertently blew up." Abby finished.

"May I see it?"

"We don't actually have it."

Dr. Chase leaned towards Ben.

"Did Bigfoot take it?"

"It was nice meeting you." Ben said standing up.

"Nice meeting you too."

"You know that really is a nice collection. Must've taken you a long time to hunt down all that history." Ben remarked.

As they left the office, Abby and Katie couldn't help but feel slightly defeated. Not only did they have the information of that conversation somewhere in their subconscious, but they hadn't been any help in there.

"If it's any consolation, you had me convinced." Riley said as he followed Ben.

"It's not." Ben replied.

"Riley, do you ever say anything helpful?" Abby asked.

"Ow…"

"Sorry. I'm just frustrated. Infuriating woman…"

"I was thinking. What if we plaster the story all over the internet? It's not like we have our reputations to worry about."

"Speak for yourself." Katie piped up.

"Ben?" Abby asked, laying a hand on his shoulder. She looked down at the Declaration trying to see what he saw in it.

"180 years of searching and I'm 3 feet away. Of all the ideas that became the United States, there's one line here that's at the heart of all the others. 'But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, its is their duty, to throw off such government and provide new guards for their future security.' People don't talk that way anymore."

"Yeah… I have no idea what you just said." Riley said.

"Me either." Abby agreed

"It means that those who have the ability to take action have the responsibility to take action." Ben said. "I'm gonna steal it."

"What?" Riley asked.

"I'm gonna steal the Declaration of Independence." He repeated.

"Did he just say what I think he said?" Abby asked.

"Um Ben…"


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

"This is huge. Prison… huge. You will go to prison, you know that, right?" Riley asked as they sat on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

"Yeah, probably." Ben replied.

"That would… bother most people." Riley stated.

"It bothers me." Etta said and Katie nodded furiously in agreement.

"I think it's worth looking at." Abby piped up.

"Yeah. This could be fun." Erica agreed.

"Ben, for god's sake, it's like… It's like stealing a national monument. It's like stealing him." Riley pointed at the Lincoln Memorial. "It can't be done. Not that it shouldn't be done but it _can't_ be done." A light bulb seemed to appear over Riley's head. "Let me prove it to you." He motioned for them to follow him.

"Couldn't you just tell us?" Erica asked no one.

"Okay, pay attention. I've brought you to the Library of Congress. Why? Because it's the biggest library in the world. Over 20 million books. And they're all saying the same thing. Listen to Riley." Riley began.

"That's why we're here." Abby grinned.

"What we have here is an entire layout of the Archives. We've got builder's blueprints, construction orders, phone bills, water and sewage. It's all here. Now, when the Declaration is on display, it's surrounded by guards… and video monitors… and little families from Iowa… and little kids on their 8th grade field trips. And beneath and inch of bullet-proof glass is an army of sensors and heat monitors that go off if someone gets too close with a high fever. When it's not on display, it is lowered into a 4 foot thick, concrete, steel plated vault that happens to be equipped with an electric combination lock and biometric access and denial systems."

Erica nodded thoughtfully making Etta snort at the obvious ruse.

"Did you understand that?" Etta asked.

"Did you?" Erica shot back.

"I did if you did."

"Did you know Thomas Edison tried and failed nearly 2,000 times to develop the carbonized cotton thread filament for the incandescent light bulb? He said 'I didn't fail, I just found 2,000 ways not to make a light bulb.' But he only needed one way to make it work." Ben said.

"I feel the same way about my computer." Etta laughed.

"The preservation room." Ben continued on, "Enjoy, go ahead. Do you know what the preservation room is for?"

"Delicious jams and jellies?" Riley guessed.

"It's the National Archives, Riley, not the grocery store." Abby commented.

"That's where they clean, maintain, and repair all the documents and storage housings when they aren't on display or in the vault. Now when the case needs work…"

"They take it to the preservation room." Katie finished.

"Exactly. The best time for us, or Ian, to steal it would be during the Gala this weekend, when the guards are distracted by the VIPs upstairs." Ben said as he showed the research to Riley and the girls. "But we'll make our way to the preservation room where there's much less security." Ben concluded. Riley thumbed through the book, looking for some glitch in Ben's plan.

"Well if Ian…Preservation room…The gala… this might be possible." Riley admitted.

"It might."

"Whoo! Adventure here we come!" Erica cried.

* * *

"C'mon girls! I'm sure you look fine!" Ben called from the living room of his flat.

Erica and Abby had volunteered to go undercover surveillance while Katie and Etta "helped" Riley in the van. Erica was going to point out that the two knew nothing about computers when Etta announced that they needed dresses. The woman at the dress rental parlor was so pleased with how the dresses she gave them a generous discount.

"What is it with girls and being obsessed with their looks?" Riley asked putting a pillow over his face.

"I believe we agreed the term was passionate." Abby said, from the doorway.

Erica had gotten a strapless, full-length red dress with silver embroidery around the top and the hem. She had pulled her hair back into a bun fastened with a silver dragonfly clip. From her hair clip down to her strappy red heels, she looked the part of a wealthy socialite. Erica stared at the mirror happily, turning around to admire her dress from every angle.

Abby's dress, though also strapless, was full-length and made of dark green velveteen material with Celtic patterns stitched in gold across the top. It was cinched in at the top, flaring out gracefully down to her green suede heels. Katie had managed to smooth Abby's hair into a half plait that was fastened halfway with a golden butterfly clip. Like Erica, she was dressed to fit the part. The empire waist of her dress was great for her figure which was a little larger than the other girls. Although Katie had spouted praises of the dress, she couldn't help but feel somewhat self-conscious.

"You girls look great." Ben said nodding his approval. "Now if we could move this little party into the van, please?"

As everyone filed outside towards the van, Abby noticed that Riley was having problems with his laptop bag again.

"Here." She said, batting his hands away. She fixed the strap so it would fit him comfortably. Riley stared down at her, brows knit in concentration. "What?" she asked.

"Since when are your eyes blue?" he asked.

"Since I was born." She replied, laughing nervously.

"I never noticed… I-"

"C'mon guys!" Katie called.

"Coming!" Abby called back. "You were saying?"

"Nothing. You look nice. We'd better go before Ben freaks out." He replied.

"I heard that!"

* * *

Katie and Etta settled down in the back of the van, adjusting their headsets. Katie kept tugging at hers nervously.

"What's up Katie?" Etta asked.

"I just feel like something's going to go wrong, don't you?" she leaned over and whispered. "Like something we would know from outside the movie."

"Don't think on it too hard." She replied.

"Ok. We'll see you guys later." Abby said, eyes once more studying the screens. As she leaned across Riley to get her bag, she felt something press against her cheek. It took a moment for her to register that Riley had kissed her. She sat back on her knees and stared at him for a moment shocked before a smile broke out across her face. Erica grabbed her arm, tugging her towards the door.

"C'mon. It's show time."

"Good luck." Katie and Etta called.

"You'll need it." Katie added in softer tones.

"Ben are you sure we should do th-" Riley was cut off by the door slamming in his face.

"Apparently so." Etta laughed.

"_Can you hear me?"_ Ben asked.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"_Same here?" _Abby asked.

"_Testing one, two, three."_ Erica said.

"Gotcha both loud and clear." Etta replied.

"Where are you now, Ben?" Riley asked after a moment.

"I'm in the bathroom."

"How do you look?"

"_Not bad."_

"Mazel tov." Riley muttered.

Meanwhile, Abby and Erica headed to the back of the building where two guards were standing watch. Etta and Katie listened intently to their charade.

"_Oh no!"_ Abby began, putting on a British lilt to disguise her voice.

"_What?" _Erica asked.

"_I think I lost my invitation. And after all I went through to get it too."_

"_But you had mine too." _There was a pause.

"_Oh…hello."_ They heard Abby put on a flirty tone.

"_Hey there."_ Erica said with what sounded like a smirk.

"_Hello. And what are two beautiful ladies such as yourselves doing outside of the gala?"_ A far off voice asked,

"_I'm afraid we've lost our invitations."_

"_Sorry, miss, but we can't let you in without an invite."_ The guard's voice sounded closer than before.

"_That's too bad…"_

"_Mmh-hmm. And after we made a huge donation."_

"_You could go around front and check in."_

"_Oh my ex-boyfriend is working in the front. If he sees me I'll never get through. He's such a loser and…"_ Abby paused, probably to flash a flirty smile at the other guard. _"He's certainly not as handsome as yourself."_

"_Well… if you try and stay discreet. I'm sure we could sneak you in. What do you think Jake?" _the first guard said. Riley didn't like how close he sounded to the microphone hidden in her bra.

"_Oh I agree." _The other one said, also very close to the microphone.

"_Speed it up girls."_ Ben's voice was short in their ears.

"_Thank you." _Abby said sickly sweet. _"We'll be very quiet."_ A long pause marked their entrance into the building.

"_Here we are. Of course… you don't have to go to the gala."_ The first guard said, his voice once again close to the microphone.

"_Yeah. You ladies could always stay here."_

"_Oh we couldn't."_

"_Well…"_ Erica began.

"_We couldn't possibly."_ Abby said more forcefully. _"Shame though…"_

"_I'll say."_

"_A kiss then. Just one."_

"_Yes. What he said."_

"_Well, I… I…"_

"_No harm ever came from just one kiss." _Erica said. There was a marked pause from the lines of both girls long enough for Etta and Katie to start laughing. Riley's hands fisted on his knees.

"_Bye."_ Erica said.

"_Yeah… Bye."_


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

**Part 5**

Inside the party

"It's about time." Ben said, handing them some champagne. "We've got work to do."

"I know, I know." Abby said. "Erica you've got a little lipstick…"

"Oh, thanks." Erica said, wiping her mouth.

"C'mon. Let's go help Ben commit a federal crime." Abby sighed as she linked arms with her friend.

"For you." Ben was saying.

"Oh, Mr. Brown." Dr. Chase sounded surprised.

"Dr. Chase. You remember my friend Miss McBride and this is her colleague Miss…"

"Arita." Erica supplied.

"Nice to meet you… What are you doing here?" Dr. Chase asked.

"_Is that that hot girl? How does she look?" _they heard Riley ask. Abby coughed loudly, making Riley, Etta, and Katie flinch.

"_God Abby. Make us deaf, why don't you."_ Etta snapped. Abby turned back to the conversation.

"Well, you needed it." Ben was saying.

"_Come on, Romeo, get outta there." _Riley urged.

"Hi. Here you go." Another man came up with some champagne.

"_Who's the stiff?"_ Riley asked.

"Hi there." Erica said in a chipper voice.

"Oh, Dr. Herbert. This is Mr. Brown, Miss McBride, and Miss Arita." Dr. Chase said.

"Hi." Abby smiled.

"A toast, yeah?" Ben said, changing the subject.

"To anarchy." Erica muttered and received an elbow in the ribs from Abby.

"To high treason." Ben said. "That's what these men were committing when they signed the Declaration. Had we lost the war, they would have been hanged, beheaded, drawn and quartered, and - Oh! Oh, my personal favorite had their entrails cut out and burned!" He noticed Abby looking at him as if he were an idiot. "So, here's to the men who did what was considered wrong in order to do what they knew was right… what they knew was right." Ben downed his champagne in one gulp, receiving odd looks from everyone around him. "Ahh, well, good night." Ben headed towards the bathrooms while Abby and Erica stayed near the lobby to keep eyes on security and Dr. Chase.

"I'm in the elevator. Riley work your magic on the cameras." Ben said.

"_OK, I'm going to turn of the surveillance camera. Ready? In 5…4…3… Ben Gates, you are now the invisible man. Give me the letters of her password. Hit me."_ Riley said.

"_A…E…F…G…L…O…R…V…Y."_

"_Anagrams being listed. Top results, a glove fry, a very golf, fargo levy, gravy floe, valey frog…"_

"_Valley Forge." _Ben and Katie said together.

"_Smart alec…" _Etta muttered.

"_Valley For- I don't have that on my computer."_

"Does it matter? If it gets him in…" Erica said softly, nodding to someone as they passed.

"_We're in."_ Ben said.

"_Ben pick it up."_ Riley advised.

"_Chill Riley."_ Etta snapped.

The feed went out.

"_Never mind, you can freak."_ Etta corrected.

"_I lost my feed. I lost my feed, Ben. I don't know where anyone is. I have noth- Ben, I have nothing. Get out of there. Get out of there now."_

"Hurry up Ben." Abby muttered, grabbing Erica's arm and leading her towards the door.

"_I'm taking the whole thing. I'll get it out in the elevator."_

"_What are you talking… Is it heavy?"_

"What does that have to do with anything?" Erica asked. Loud noises rang out over the earpieces, making every flinch followed by a sinking feeling in the pit of their stomachs.

"Time to go." Abby said walking much faster.

"_Who's shooting? Ben, you still there? Ben?!"_ Riley panicked.

"_I'm in the elevator. Ian's here."_ Ben answered.

Erica pulled the door open and hopped inside. Abby followed, nervously checking the cameras as if she could find an out for Ben.

"You guys ok?" Katie asked.

"We're fine. Don't worry." Erica said.

"Yeah. It's all cool-e-o." Abby agreed. She sat on the floor next to Riley, staring at him even though he refused to look back. "Riley…" she began.

"_Start the van."_ Ben's voice said.

"Uh Ben… the mean declaration lady's behind you." Riley pointed out, moving into the driver's seat.

"Hey." Dr. Chase called.

"Oh, it's you." Ben acted surprised.

"Mr. Brown, what's going on? What's that?" the doctor demanded.

"A souvenir." Ben replied calmly.

"Really?" she sounded skeptical.

"I don't think she believes him." Katie muttered.

"Nah, really?" Etta snarked.

That's when the security alarms went off.

"Oh my god…" Riley groaned.

"Oh my god, you did not… Give me that!" Dr. Chase snatched the Declaration from Ben.

"Take it, it's yours." Ben agreed.

"Security!" the younger woman shouted.

"Go!" Ben said, getting in the van.

"What? We can't just let her go!" Riley objected.

"We can, go!"

"Ben!" Etta shouted, pointing to another van across the street. Dr. Chase was being dragged into the van by one of Ian's men.

"Wait, hold it. Hold it. Bad, bad, bad, bad!" Ben jumped out but as soon as he did so, they began shooting. "Go! Go!" Ben said climbing back in the van.

"Once we catch them, what do we do?" Riley asked.

"I'm working on it!" Ben shouted.

"Right turn, right turn." Riley swung the wheel in accordance. "Skidding, skidding." Riley muttered.

"Oh no." Ben said, seeing Dr. Chase hanging off the top of the door.

"Holy lord." Riley muttered.

"Oh man, oh man, oh man." Abby said, bouncing nervously in her seat.

By some miracle, Ben managed to get her safely in the van. They collapsed panting into the back of Riley's van. Etta let out a sigh of relief and let go of Katie's arm, which she had been holding onto for dear life.

"You alright?" Ben asked.

"No, those-those lunatics..."

"You're not hurt are you?"

"You're all lunatics!"

"You hungry?"

"What?" the doctor asked exasperated.

"Are you alright?" Ben repeated.

"Still a little on edge from being shot at, but I'll be okay, thanks for asking." Riley said sarcastically. Abby looked into the back of the van, eyes wide.

"Everyone ok back there?" she asked.

"We're ok." Katie said weakly.

"Well, I'm not alright! Those men have the Declaration of Independence!" Dr. Chase cried.

"She lost it?!" Everyone except Ben and Dr. Chase cried. Ben held up another case.

"They don't have it. See? Okay? Now, could you please stop shouting?"

"Give me that!" Dr. Chase snapped.

"You're still shouting, and it's really starting to annoy. You'd do well, Dr. Chase, to be a bit more civilized in this instance." Ben said smoothly.

"But it is fun to watch." Erica laughed.

"If this is the real one, what did they get?" Dr. Chase asked.

"Souvenir. I thought it might be a good idea to have a duplicate. Turned out I was right. I had to pay for both the souvenir and the real one, so you owe me 35 dollars, plus tax."

"Genius." Riley said as Abby brushed some broken glass off her clothes. "You ok?" he asked stonily.

"I'm fine." She replied, just as cold.

"Who were those men?" Dr. Chase asked.

"Just the guys we warned you were going to try to steal the Declaration." Etta said.

"And you didn't believe us!" Riley agreed.

"We did the only thing we could do to keep it safe."

"Verdammt! Give me that!"

"You know something? You're shouting again."

"Pretty sure she was swearing too." Riley said.

"Well, we probably deserve that." Ben laughed.

"Yeah we do." Erica said.

"There is not an invisible treasure map on the Declaration of Independence!" Dr. Chase cried.

"And there is no chance anyone could steal this," he shook the tube. "either. I level with you 100 percent. Everything I told you was the truth."

"I want that document, Mr. Brown!" Dr. Chase snarled.

"OK, my name's not Brown, it's Gates. I level with you 98 percent." Ben admitted.

"Erica."

"Katie."

"Abby."

"Etta. We never met; ergo I never lied to you."

"Wait a minute, did you say Gates?" Dr. Chase asked. "Gates? You're that family with the conspiracy with about the founding fathers."

"It's not a conspiracy theory."

"Per se." Riley muttered.

"I take it back. You're not liars. You're insane!"

"Not all of us just Erica. I'm questioning Ben." Abby said.

"Hey!"

"How do you exactly plan to find this invisible map?" Dr. Chase asked.

"Well… we might need to run some tests on it."

"You can't seriously intend to run chemical tests on the Declaration of Independence in the back of a moving van." Dr. Chase stated.

"We have a clean room environment all set up: EDS suits, a particulate air filtration system, the whole shebang." Riley said.

"We can't go back there." Ben admitted.

"What? Why not?"

"I paid for the Declaration with a credit card. I didn't have enough cash…" Ben began.

"A credit card slip? Dude, we're on the grid! They're going to have your records from forever. They're going to have my records for forever!" Riley yelled.

"We're going to jail." Katie moaned.

"Ha-cha-cha." Abby said grinning.

"I know, I know. It's only a matter of minutes before the FBI shows up at my front door… We need those letters." Ben said.

"What letters?" Dr. Chase asked.

"You know what, get off the road, take a right." Ben said.

"What letters?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Part 6**

"You have the original Silence Dogood letters?" Abigail asked surprised. They had pulled off to a grassy area and were nervously watching Ben. The other girls were leaning on the back of the van watching Ben pace.

"They're digital scans, now be quiet."

"Where did you get the scans?"

"Because I know the man who has the originals, now shush."

"Why do you need them?"

"She really can't shut her mouth, can she?"

Riley shrugged.

"Look, I will let you hold this if you promise to shut up, please!"

"Ben, you know what you have to do." Riley said.

"I know what to do. I'm just trying to think anything else we could do." Ben replied.

"Not to be a nudge, but do know how many people we have after us? We probably have our satellite by now. It took all of 2 seconds for you to decide to steal the Declaration of Independence." Riley said.

"Yeah, but I didn't think I'd have to personally have to tell my dad about it!" Ben shouted. Abigail took the opportunity to take off. "Hey, not cool. Not cool!" Ben caught her.

"Let me go!" Abigail cried. Ben took the Declaration.

"You're let go. Now shoo."

"I'm not going. Not without the Declaration."

"Well, you're not going with the Declaration."

"Look, if you wanted to leave me behind, you shouldn't have told me where you were going." Abigail said.

"She's got a point." Katie called.

* * *

"Park a couple blocks away." Ben said.

"How long do think we got?" Riley asked.

"Give them a couple hours, at least. I hope."

"What do we do about her? I got some duct tape in the back…" Riley motioned to the back.

"Yeah, let's add violent kidnapping to the list." Erica said.

"Wouldn't kidnapping already be on the list?" Abby asked.

"That's why I said violent."

"No, that won't be necessary. She won't be any trouble. Promise you won't be any trouble?"

"I promise."

"See? She's curious." Ben smiled. They walked the short distance to the house and waited a ways back while Ben rang the doorbell. An older man answered the door. "Dad." Ben said.

"Where's the party?"

"Well…I'm in a little trouble."

"Is she pregnant?" he asked, looking at Abigail. Etta snorted.

"If she is would you leave the mother of your grandchild standing out in the cold?"

"I look pregnant?" Abigail asked. Riley shook his head.

"Come in." he said.

Abby and Erica went to change while Riley, Etta, and Katie grabbed some pizza. They meandered back into the room a few minutes later. Abby could feel the adrenaline rush leaving her, replacing it with the dizziness of the champagne. Erica sat on the floor next to Katie and put her head in her hands, both dizzy and tired from the party. Riley moved over and allowed Abby some room to sit down.

"Pizza?" he asked. She looked over at him and nodded. They both new he wasn't really offering pizza as food, but as a peace offering for what had happened earlier.

"Thanks." She replied.

Both were suddenly very aware of the argument going on in front of them.

"Of course, I know. I'm the family kook. I have a house, a job, health insurance. At least I had your mother, for however brief a time. What do you have? Them?"

"I resent that!" Erica said indignantly.

"Look, if you just give us the letters we're gone." Ben said.

"You disappoint me Ben."

"Well, maybe that's the real Gates family legacy. Sons who disappoint their fathers."

"Ouch." Etta said.

"Get out. Take your troubles with you." his dad snapped.

"Also very ouch." She paused. "Did that make sense?"

"Itsus ok. I got it."

"I found the Charlotte." Ben said.

"The Charlotte? You mean she was a ship?"

"Yeah. She was beautiful. It was amazing dad."

"And the treasure?"

"No, no, but we found another clue, which lead us here…" Ben began.

"And that will lead to another clue, and that's all you'll ever find is another clue. Don't you get it Ben? I finally figured it out. The legend said the treasure was buried to keep it from the British. But what really happened was the legend was invented to keep the British occupied searching for buried treasure. The treasure is a myth."

"I refuse to believe that." Ben said.

"Me either." Etta, Katie, and Abby said together.

"Woah, that was odd."

"You can believe what you want. You're a grown people. What am I doing? Do what you want. Do what you want."

"Well, I can think of a way we can find out. And we can find out right now."

* * *

"Looks like animal skin. How old is it?"

"At least 200 years." Ben replied.

"Really? You sure?"

"Pretty darn."

"Now, if this thing is invisible ink, how do we look at it?" Riley asked.

"With invisible eyes." Erica ventured. Etta rolled her eyes.

"Throw it in the oven." Mr. Gates said.

"No." Everyone said.

"Higher sulfate inks can only be brought out with heat." He stated.

"But this…"

"Is very old. We can't risk compromising the map." Ben finished.

"You need a reagent."

"Dad, it's really late. Why don't you get some rest?" Ben told him.

"I'm fine."

"So…" he grabbed a lemon slice and held it over the paper. Abigail grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Awkward moment."

"You can't do that."

"But it has to be done."

"Then somebody trained to handle antique documents is going to do it."

"Okay."

"Now, if there is an invisible message, it will probably be marked by a symbol in the upper right hand corner."

"That's right." Ben said.

"I think I see hearts." Abby whispered to Katie.

"I am so getting fired for this." Abigail mumbled, applying the juice to the Declaration.

"I told you." Mr. Gates said. "You need heat." Ben and Abigail glanced at each other and moved towards the document. They blew on the paper, heating the area. A small symbol appeared in the corner.

"I take it that's a good thing." Erica said.

"We need more juice."

"We need more heat."

* * *

"It doesn't look like a map." Riley said. "Are those latitudes and longitudes?" Riley asked.

"Do they look like longitudes and latitudes?" Etta asked.

"If they didn't I wouldn't have asked."

"We need the Silence Dogood letters." Ben said.

"That's the key?" Abigail asked.

"What key?"

"The key, Erica. The reason we're here." Abby reminded.

"The key in Silence undetected. Dad, can we have the letters now?" Ben asked.

"Will someone please explain to me what these magic numbers are?" Riley asked, frustrated.

"Breathe Riley. Breeaaathe."

"I'm breathing!"

"It's an Ottendorf cipher."

"Okay." Riley paused. "What's an Ottendorf cipher?"

"Each of these numbers corresponds to a word in the key. In this case the Silence Dogood letters. So, it's like that page number of the key text, the line on the page, and the letter in that line. So Dad, where are the letters?" Ben asked.

"You know, it's just by sheer happenstance that his grandfather…" Mr. Gates said.

"Dad." Ben said firmly.

"…even found the letters. They were in an antique desk."

"Dad, where are the letters?"

"I don't have them."

"What?"

"I don't have them."

"Where are they?" Ben asked.

"I donated them to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia."

"Time to go." Ben said.

"That involves moving." Erica groaned.

"Yeah. So move." Etta said, pulling her off the couch.

"After all this time, nobody knew it was on the back." Abigail whispered.

"The back of what?"

"No!" Ben cried as he reached for the Declaration.

"Oh my god. Oh my god!"

"I know." Ben groaned.

"Oh my god! What have you done? This is…This is…"

"I know!"

"I know, he know, she know, we know."

"Shut up Erica."

"This is the Declaration of Independence." He groaned.

"And it's very delicate." Abigail told him.

"You stole it?" He asked harshly.

"Dad, I can explain, but I don't have time. It was necessary. You saw the cipher." Ben protested.

"And that will lead to another clue. And that will lead to another clue. And that's all you'll ever find. There is no treasure. I wasted 20 years of my life, and now you've destroyed yours! And you pulled me into this."

"Well, we can't have that, can we?" Ben replied.


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 7**

Everyone squeezed into the back of Mr. Gate's car. Etta was stretched out over Erica and Katie's laps with Abby had curled up with Riley next to the door.

"You could sit on the floor." Erica said to Etta.

"No room. I'm not moving."

"Your dad's got a sweet ride." Riley mumbled and Abby nodded in agreement, burying her face in his neck.

"She's still sitting on me." Erica pointed out.

"I think we should change clothes. We look kind of conspicuous, don't you think?" Ben asked.

"I'd like to go shopping too, but we have no money." Riley said.

"I think I have a nickel in my pocket, but I'm too tired to get it." Abby said.

"Stop talking, it tickles." Riley mumbled.

"Too tired to speak." Abby responded.

"Here, I took this from his house. He usually tucks a few hundred dollars between the pages."

"_Common Sense_. How appropriate." Abigail said.

"When are we going to get there? I'm hungry. This car smells weird." Riley groaned.

"Seriously get off." Erica said.

"Erica!"

* * *

Katie and Erica were asleep in the car while Etta, Abby, and Riley were outside the Franklin Institute, working out the clue.

"I don't get it."

"That's why we're still sitting here."

"Abby, conference… over here." Etta said.

"Yeah?" she asked, heading after her down the sidewalk.

"This thing with you and Riley. I feel the need to remind you… he's a movie character!"

"Shhh. I know, I know." She glanced back at him. "But what's the big deal?"

"I think it's obvious. You're involved with a person that doesn't exist!"

"Etta…" she sighed. "If you were in the same position, I wouldn't be on your case."

"Erica would… Zitta and all that."

"I know. And when she's all crazy about that, I'm on your side. Why can't you just let it go? Please?"

"Whatever. Just don't say I didn't warn you."

"Got it."

They came back over just as the kid came running across the street.

"Whatcha got?" Etta asked.

"S-S-A-N-D." He read as Riley wrote them down. "No 'N.'"

"That is an 'N.'"

"Doesn't look like an 'N.'"

"He's got a point." Abby said, only to get greeted with a glare.

"Ok, here. One more dollar. Got get the last four letters. Go get 'em, chief."

"What do we have?"

"'The vision to see the treasured past comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the house of Pass and…' Pass and what?" he looked up across the street. "Pass and Stow!" he cried triumphantly.

"Who?" Etta asked.

"Pass and Stow where the- well c'mon, Ben'll tell you."

"But I thought of it!" Riley whined.

"C'mon Riley. You'll get all the glory." Abby said, grabbing his hand.

* * *

"Hey Ben! We got it!" Abby said.

"Yeah. And it's awesome." Erica said, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Hit it Riley." Etta prompted.

"The clue was: 'The vision to see the treasured past comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the house of Pass and Stow.' Now Pass and Stow, referring to-"

"The Liberty Bell." Abigail picked up.

"Why do you have to do that?" He grumbled.

"I think 'The vision to see the treasured past' must refer to a way to read the map." Katie said.

"I thought the cipher was the map." Riley said.

"No, the cipher was the way to find the way to read the map." Ben explained.

"The way to read the map comes as the timely shadow passes in front of the Liberty Bell." Abigail continued.

"Crosses in front of the house of the Liberty Bell. Independence Hall." Ben added.

"Timely shadow. It must be a specific time." Abby said.

"What time?" Erica, Etta, Katie, and Riley asked.

"What time?" Ben repeated. Suddenly his eyes lit up. "You're going to love this. Excuse me, can I see one of those hundred dollar bills I paid you with?" He asked the cashier.

"No."

"Well, I have this diver's watch, it's called a submariner. I dive with it. It's actually quite valuable. You could use it as collateral."

"Whatever." She said taking the watch.

"On the back of a hundred dollar bill is an etching of Independence Hall, based on a painting done in the 1780's…."

"Hello?" The woman handed him the bill.

"Thank you." he took the bill. "And the artist was actually a friend of Benjamin Franklin. It's wonderful. Hold this." He suddenly hesitated.

"I'm not going anywhere." She grinned.

"If we look through this, we might be able to see the specific time." He said peering through his water bottle.

"What do you see?" Abigail asked.

"2:22." Ben read.

"What time is it now?" Erica asked.

"Almost 3." The cashier answered.

"We missed it." Katie groaned.

"No we didn't. We didn't miss it because…" Riley paused. "Wait you don't know this? I know something about history you don't know."

"Wonderful." Etta said.

"I'd be very excited to learn about it Riley."

"Hold on one second. Let me just… Just take in this moment. This is cool." Riley mused. "Is this how you feel all the time, except for now, of course…"

"Riley!" Abigail urged.

"Alright. What I know is that daylight savings time wasn't established until World War 1. So if it's 3 PM now, in 1776-"

"-it would be 2 PM." Abby finished smiling up as him in awe.

"Riley you're a genius."

"Let's go."

"Do you know who the first person to suggest Daylight Savings time was?" Riley asked.

"Benjamin Franklin." Everyone, even Erica, replied.

Riley stomped angrily.

* * *

A few minutes later, the group was stealthily ditching the tour.

"What's this?" Riley asked as they entered the tower.

"Centennial Bell. Replaced the Liberty Bell in 1876." Ben answered. They looked out at the shadow.

"There it is." Abigail said, motioning to the shadow.

"Alright. I'll go down, and you six meet me in the signing room." Ben said, taking off.

"3:22. My idea." Riley said.

"Riley?"

"Coming."

* * *

"What'd you score?" Riley asked Ben as he entered the signing room.

"It's some kind of ocular device." Ben held up the glasses. "The vision to see the treasured past? Let me take this." He took the document case as Riley took the glasses.

"They're like… Early American x-ray specs." Riley said quietly.

"Ooo… Getting all Matrix-ey on us." Erica said.

"Wow Erica." Etta groaned.

"I know."

"Benjamin Franklin invented something like these." Abigail said.

"Uh, I think he invented these."

"What do we do with them?" Riley asked.

"We look through them." Ben said.

"Help me." Abigail unrolled the Declaration. Ben sighed.

"What?" Riley asked.

"It's just that… the last time this was here, it was being signed." Ben said.

"Ben, there's another tour coming." Riley reminded him.

"Turn it over."

"What do you see?" Abigail asked.

"Is it a treasure map?" Riley asked.

"It says 'Heere at the Wall'. Spelled with 2 Es. Take a look." Riley reached for the glasses but Abigail grabbed them first.

"Why can't they say got to this place, here's the treasure, spend it wisely?" Riley asked, annoyed.

"Oh no." Ben muttered. Through the window, the group could see Ian poking around outside the building.

"How'd they find us?" Katie asked, nervously.

"Ian has nearly unlimited resources. And he's smart." Ben stated.

"I don't think we can get out of here without being spotted."

"Well we could but-"

"No Erica, we really can't."

"Well, we don't want them to have the Declaration or the glasses, but we especially don't want them to have them both together." Ben stated.

"So what do we do?" Riley asked.

"We separate the lock from the key. We're splitting up."

"Good idea." Abigail agreed.

"I'll take this and those." Ben took the empty case and glasses. "You take that. Meet me at the car and call me if there are any problems."

"Like if we get caught and killed?" Riley asked.

"Yeah. That'd be a big problem." He shouldered the case. "Ok. Watch out for her."

"I will." Everyone said at the same time. "Who were **you** talking about?

"Ok. We've **got** to stop doing that." Erica said.


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 8**

Everyone split up as soon as they saw Shaw and Shippen. They ran into a farmer's market, hiding anywhere they could. Abby and Riley hid behind a hat rack. Leaning around it, they saw Shaw heading in their direction. Riley grabbed a hat and crammed it on his head.

"Sorry about this." He said.

"'Bout what?" she asked. Riley slammed his lips down on hers, pulling her arms up to wrap around his neck.

"Teenagers…" Abby heard Shaw mutter as he passed. They broke apart; looking after Shaw to make sure her was leaving. Riley looked back at Abby, who managed a half-laugh.

"C'mon guys!" Etta hissed, running over and grabbing their arms. "It's not the best time to discuss our feelings."

Abigail motioned them over as they fled from the market. Abby pushed forward through the crowd, pulling Erica with her. Glancing back, she saw Riley falling behind.

"Oh Snap!" Erica cried. Turning back, she saw Abigail drop the Declaration into the street.

"Don't-" Katie started as Abigail darted into the street. Riley leapt forward to grab her, narrowly missing the semi barreling towards them.

Etta saw him first. He came over coolly and picked up the Declaration. Katie glared as he grinned, silently mocking them.

"Great. Now what?" Katie asked, coming around the corner.

"Is that-?" Etta began, looking at the man being handcuffed by federal agents.

"Ben." Abigail affirmed.

"Think he stole Sierra Mist?" Erica asked.

"What?" Riley asked.

"You know… because it said free."

"He's being arrested by federal agents, Erica. I don't think that petty theft requires feds." Etta sighed.

"So what do we do now? It's not like we can just walk up to the feds and say 'Hi, we're the other people who stole the Declaration of Independence. Could we have our friend back? What? Oh no we lost it to the bad guy and now he's going to get the Templar Treasure and move to GUAM!" Abby said, beginning to panic.

"Guam?" Etta asked.

"It's where they go in the movies!"

"She's going to hyperventilate." Erica said.

"Am not!!"

"Are too!" Erica shot back.

"Am NOT!"

"Are too!"

"GUYS!" Katie yelled. "This isn't helping anyone! Now… are we gonna go save Ben or not?"

Her three friends stood there in a state of shock. She had never been so adamant about anything before, not including that time they tried to stick Oreos to someone's car.

"She's right. We need to focus. And… and I think I've got a plan." Erica said slowly.

"A plan?" Abby asked in disbelief.

"Yeah. We're gonna need sporks, copper wire, a cop car, a bottle of soda, and a package of mentos." Everyone stared at her for a minute in confusion. "OR Riley's cell phone."

"My cell phone?"

"Yes. You're going to-" she dropped her voice to a whisper "- got it? Good. And **we** are gonna prepare for Plan B."

"What's Plan B?" Etta asked.

"Well I'm about to tell you."

* * *

Katie, Erica, and Etta sat behind Abby and Riley on the plane. Katie looked at them and couldn't help but sigh.

"What's wrong?" Etta asked.

"I feel a little sorry for her. I mean, we have to leave the movie sometime. What happens then?"

"Well I suppose she'll sulk for a day or two, fake happy, completely blow up, sulk some more, and then find another guy." Erica said.

"And what about us?" Etta asked.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm going to insist on watching a movie with at least four hot guys in it. One for each of us." Erica replied.

"I know but think of the guys we've been with in the past." Katie said. "I'll get my heartbroken like Abby. Ya'll are just players."

"Hey! I resent that!" Erica protested.

"I've never cheated on my boyfriend!" Etta objected.

"I didn't say you did. But think about Andy."

Erica started laughing. "Yeah that was a great 2 day relationship."

"Oh your one to talk! What about your past string of short romances?!" Etta said.

"What can I say? That just means a movie romance is great for me. And really Katie, shall we get started on _your_ love life?" Erica said pointedly.

"I- um- shouldn't we be focusing on Abby's issues?"


	9. Chapter 9

**Part 9**

When they landed in New York, the remaining adventurers filed into a café, after, of course, dragging Abby off the Broadway streets.

"I mean it, if I stand there long enough the greatness of all the actors and actresses in the world will be absorbed in my being." Abby sighed.

"I told you we shouldn't have let her watch Moulin Rouge on the flight." Erica muttered.

"Quiet, you two." Abigail said as she dialed the number again. In a few short moments she was talking to Ben. "Hi sweetie, how's your day going?"

"So much love in the room." Abby said.

"Turns out helping someone escape from FBI custody is a criminal act. He's the only criminal we knew. So we called him and made a deal.

"Riley's over here doing something clever with a computer."

"Which I still don't understand." Katie said.

"It's simple, Katie. I'm tracking him through the-Hey! I'm tracking you through the GPS in Shaw's phone. They take a turn anywhere we don't want, we'll know it, so-"

"If Ian tries to double cross us, we can call the FBI and tell them right where you are. And where to find Ian."

"I'll tell you one thing, as soon as we find him I swear I'll whoop his sorry-" Etta was cut off mid sentence.

"Right across the street from where we're hiding. At the intersection of Wall Street and Broadway."

"I mean it you guys. Greatness will just radiate from the street." Abby said, nodding.

"Simple. 'Heere at the Wall'. Wall Street and Broadway. Ben, there is a catch. We made Ian believe that he could have the treasure. It was the only way we could get this far."

"I spy with my little eye a treasure hunter." Erica said.

Etta watched as Ben negotiated with Ian. Part of her wished she had a gun or something she could use as defense against the looming attack. She was sure that as soon as Ian didn't need them…

"C'mon." Abigail said, breaking her chain of thought.

"What wrong?" Katie asked when Ben reached them.

"They've got my dad." He said, looking a little more nervous than usual.

"Dang it." Etta muttered.

"Let's go." Abigail sighed.

* * *

"You know," Katie said as they sat in the pews watching Ben and Ian. "I never thought I'd be thrown into the arctic, dragged all over New England, assist in the theft of the Declaration of Independence, shot at multiple times, and finally held hostage with the threat of never escaping this church alive."

"Trust me, Katie, it's normal to not expect that." Abby laughed.

"But I couldn't have picked better people to do it with."

"Awww, we luvershu too girl." Erica said.

"Hate to break up this feel good moment of the year but Ben's trying to get our attention." Riley said.

"Ok girls; let's go see what happens next." Etta grinned.

As they searched, Etta, Erica, Katie, and Abby walked a bit away from the group. They had important matters to discuss.

"Etta this is a very simple mechanism. You point and shoot." Abby said holding out the gun. She had snagged it from Ben's father's house. What he was doing with a gun hidden in his bathroom, she'll never know. "My aim's the best but you know I can't shoot at people. Now they're sure to have guns, every one of them, so you better make sure it's a last resort."

Etta nodded, tucking the gun in the back of her jeans, careful to make sure her jacket was covering it.

"The rest of you are clear on what to do, right?" Erica asked. "Abby? You got that knife right?"

"Yeah. And you two are good?" she asked Erica and Katie.

"Yeah we're good." Katie agreed.

"I found it!" the heard Riley call. "Parkington Lane… it's a person!"

Erica and Katie started off for tomb but Abby grabbed Etta's arm.

"Etta, don't let me down. You shoot that gun, you shoot to kill." Abby said gravely.

Etta nodded and walked towards the rest of the group as Riley came over to Abby.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"Just discussing Plan B."

* * *

"Parkington Lane." Ben read aloud. "He was a third degree master mason of the blue light…Hey!"

One of Ian's henchman began hacking away at the tomb. Riley moved forward to help lift the coffin out but, unfortunately for everyone there, the wood didn't hold and Mr. Lane's body went crashing to the floor.

"Ack." Abby said.

"Careful no one steps in him." Powell said.

"Who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?" Riley asked.

"After you, Erica."

"Alright, McGregor, Victor, you stay here. And if anyone should come out without me… Well, use your imagination."

"I'm imagining some pretty bad things." Abby said, somewhat nervously.

The girls edged into the tomb, Abby freaking out about bugs.

"Will you shut up?!" Shaw growled.

"Fine jeez. See you get bit by and unidentifiable species of spider."

"Spiderman returns!" Erica cried.

"Women…" he muttered.


	10. Chapter 10

**Part 10**

Katie clutched at Abby's hand as they traversed the tunnels. Abby, just as fearful, kept a firm hold on her hand. That sense that something bad was going to happen washed over the two of them. The two girls were polar opposites. Katie was athletic, Abby was artistic. Katie was tall, Abby was short. Katie was quiet, Abby was loud. But in this case, their cautious, studious natures took over and they were on guard.

When they finally arrived at the staircase, Etta looked out in awe. This surprised everyone because she was rarely in awe of anything.

"Here, help me with this." Ben said, motioning towards the chandelier. Katie moved to help him, staring downward at the stairway.

"Are those elevators?" Etta asked.

"How did a bunch of guys with hand tools build all this?" Shaw asked.

"The same way they built the pyramids and the Great Wall of China." Ben said.

"Yeah," Riley nodded. "The aliens helped them."

Abby almost laughed but she was still too nervous.

"Alright. What are we waiting for?" Ian asked.

"I'm not going out on that thing." The elder Gates objected. "200 years of termite damage and rot."

"Dad, do what he says." Ben said firmly.

"Watch your step." Katie warned. A loud tremor shook the structure making Abby clutch the rail fearfully.

"What was that?" she whined.

"Subway?" Etta reasoned.

"The restaurant?" Erica asked. Trust Erica to be joking in a situation like this.

"Oy! This one's got a gun!" Shaw shouted, drawing his own weapon.

"PLAN B!" Erica shouted.

Abby, who happened to be the unlucky one, grabbed Ian's wrist. She pulled the knife from her back pocket as Ian reared back for a punch. She leaned forward, plunging the knife into his left shoulder, his punch glancing off her own.

Behind her, Katie and Erica double teamed Powell. Kicking, punching, and hitting. Erica even bit him in the forearm.

Etta had drawn her gun, ready to shoot but as she took aim, the floorboards under Shaw's feet gave way. The wooden stairway began to give way and crumble. Etta jumped, landing onto a jutting platform

"Jump!" she shouted. Katie shook with fear as she leapt, landing awkwardly close to the edge. Erica jumped right after her and the two collided, sending them both flying into the abyss below.

"NO!" Etta cried, looking down. By some miracle, Katie managed to grab a hold of another platform. Erica crash landed on the elevator platform next to Ian.

Riley and Abby tumbled down as the stairs gave way and were somehow able to land near Abigail and Katie on the level below.

"I never want to do that again." Katie breathed. Ben came running over

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry I dropped you. I had to save the Declaration." Ben said quickly.

"No, don't be. I would have done exactly the same thing to you." Abigail said.

"Really?" Ben asked.

"I would've dropped you both." Riley spoke up.

"Freaks." Abby muttered.

"Ian, it's not worth it." Ben said sternly.

"Do you imagine any one of your lives is more valuable to me than Shaw's?" Ian asked, sending the girls a look of pure hatred. "We go on."

"The status quo. Keep the status quo." Ben's father said, leading them onto the elevator. Ian stopped the machine and waited for everyone to get off.

"This can't be it." He growled. The room around them was empty. Nothing but silvery cobwebs and golden dust littered the room.

"Where is the treasure?" Powell asked.

"Well?" Ian snapped.

"This is it?" Riley asked dubiously, "We came all this way for a dead end?"

"Yes." Ben said. And for the first time he sounded truly defeated.

"There has got to be something more." Riley said.

"No, there are no more clues! That's it! It's over! End of the road! The treasure's gone, moved, taken somewhere else." Ben yelled.

"You're not playing games with me Ben? You don't know where it is?" Ian asked.

"No." Ben replied.

"OK. Go." Powell began to raise the elevator.

"Wait a minute!" Ben called.

"Hold up!" Erica cried, "You can't leave us here."

"Yes I can. Unless Ben tells me the next clue."

"There's not another clue." Ben affirmed.

"Ian, wait. Listen, why don't you come back down here and we can talk through this together." Riley suggested. Ian drew his gun and trained it on the speaker.

"Don't speak again." Ian snarled.

"Hey! Get that gun off of him!" Abby snapped. She turned to tell Riley to back into the room and out of range.

That's when the gun went off.


	11. Chapter 11

Part 11

**Part 11**

Abby fell forward into Riley, arms around his neck. Riley reached up and felt liquid running down her back. Panic filled Riley's eyes, followed by anger. Katie pulled her friend from Riley's arms, gently easing her onto the ground where she could check the damage.

"You shot her!" Riley bellowed. With an animalistic cry he lunged toward the elevator. Ben grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him backwards.

"Riley, killing Ian won't help any of this." He said. Riley jerked away from him and knelt next to Abby.

"KatieBug…" Abby groaned, "Can't you make it stop hurting?"

"I can try." She muttered, using Abby's knife to cut the sleeve off her sweat jacket. She used it to wrap Abby's shoulder in an attempt to stop the blood flow.

"Where's the treasure? Ben?" Ian called, unimpressed by his own horrific act.

"The lantern." The elder Gates began.

"Dad." Ben said.

"The status quo has changed son. It's part of freemason teachings." He said, "In King's Solomon's temple, there was a winding staircase. It signified the journey that had to be made to find the light of truth. The lantern is the clue."

"And what does it mean?" Ian insisted.

"Boston. It's Boston." Ben replied.

"The Old North Church in Boston, where Thomas Newton hung a lantern in the steeple to signal to Paul Revere that British were coming. One if by land, two if by sea. One lantern under the winding staircase of the steeple. That's where you have to look." Ben's father finished.

"Thank you." Ian went to start the elevator again.

"Wait! Aren't you gonna take us with you?"

"You freakin' shot our friend!" Etta snapped.

"Yeah and she stabbed me."

"But you're leaving her to die!" Katie said.

"So? Besides, with all of you out of the picture, there's less baggage to carry." Ian said.

"What if we lied?" Mr. Gates reasoned.

"Did you?" Ian pointed the gun at him.

"What if there's another clue?" Ben asked. After what happened the last time Ian aimed his gun, Ben wasn't taking chances.

"Then I know right where to find you. See you Ben."

"No!" Ben shouted as the elevator pulled away.

"What're we gonna do now?" Riley asked, near panicking.

"Alright guys, what's going on? The British came by sea with two lanterns. Not one." Abigail stated.

"Ian needed another clue, so we gave it to him."

"It was a fake. It was a fake clue." Riley realized.

"Now what?" Etta asked, leaning over Abby nervously.

"By the time Ian figures it out, we'll still be trapped down here and Abby…" Riley cut his sentence short, "Either way, we're going to die."

"Nobody's going to die. Especially not me." Abby stated.

"There has to be another way out." Erica groaned.

"There is." Ben said.

"Where?" Riley asked.

"Through the treasure room." Ben finished, opening the wall.

Through the dust they could make out broken pottery and roughly hewn walls. But there was no treasure and certainly no way out.

"No!" Etta exclaimed. "It can't end this way!"

"Shh." Abby chided.

"This is a terrible ending for a movie." Etta muttered.

"I'm sorry, Ben." Abigail soothed.

"It's gone." He said frustrated.

"Listen, Ben-" Mr. Gates began.

"It may have even been gone before Charles Carroll told the story to Thomas Gates."

"It doesn't matter."

"I know. 'Cause you were right." Ben said.

"No, I wasn't right. This room is real, Ben. And that means the treasure is real. You're in the company of some of the most brilliant minds in history because you found what they left behind for you to find and understood the meaning of it." He sighed, "You did it Ben. For all of us. Your grandfather, and all of us. And I've never been so happy to be proven wrong." He clapped a hand on his son's shoulder and smiled.

"I just really thought there would be treasure." He said.

"Okay then, we'll keep looking for it."

"I'm in." Abigail said.

"Me too." Etta agreed.

"All of us are." Erica said. Abby nodded in concurrence.

"Not to be Johnny Rain Cloud here, but that's not gonna happen! Ben, I've always trusted you to get us out of this in one piece," he stood and put a hand on Ben's shoulder, leaning in so he couldn't be heard, "I can't loose her. There _has_ to be another way out of here."

"Well, that's it. It doesn't make any sense, the first thing the builders would have done after getting down here was to cut a secondary shaft back out for air..." Mr. Gates began.

"...and in case of cave-ins." Ben finished.

There was a small pause.

"Check the walls." Erica said, diving for the closest one. Everyone began looking for hooks or buttons, anything that could open the wall. Ben leaned over the farthest wall, looking at an indenture. Pulling out the pipe he examined the edges.

"Could it really be that simple?"

He hooked the pieces in like the finishing edge of a puzzle. The wall fell in with a groan and a cloud of dust. No one could say a word for the astonishment. Katie and Abigail looked over some scrolls.

"Scrolls from the library at Alexandria." Abigail breathed.

"Is this possible?" Katie asked.

"No way!" Etta exclaimed, "It's a book written by Julius Caesar!"

"It's a big bluish-green man…" Riley said. "With a strange looking goatee…I'm guessing that's significant." He hugged the statue. Abby laughed weakly and leaned on Riley, supporting herself on his shoulder.

Ben had placed his torch in some sort of lighting mechanism. Fire spread throughout the room, lighting the entire room and increasing the groups' awe.

"We did it!" Mr. Gate's cried.

"Zoh my God!" Erica shouted.

"Yes!" Etta said.

"Are you crying, Riley?" Abigail asked.

"Look… stairs."

Abby was about to give her own elated shout but the pain in her shoulder took over. Her vision blurred and the last thing she heard was Riley saying her name.


	12. Chapter 12

**Part 12**

"Sure seems you get to a hospital a lot faster with an FBI escort." Erica said as they sat nervously in the waiting room. Etta let out a snort but it couldn't cover the depressing mood in the room. Agent Sadusky sat down next to Ben and stared at the floor.

"I sure hope your friend is ok." He said. Ben didn't respond but thrust the Declaration in his direction. "Just like that?" the agent asked.

"Just like that."

"You don't get the concept of a bargaining chip do you?"

"The Declaration of Independence is not a bargaining chip. Not to us. Besides, now's not the time to bargain."

"So, what's your offer?" Sadusky asked.

"How about a bribe? Say, about 10 billion dollars?"

"I take it you found the treasure?"

"It's back at the church. Five stories below the floor."

"You know the Templars and Free Masons believed that the treasure was too great for any one man to have, not even a king. That's why they went to such lengths to keep it hidden." The agent said, polishing his ring. His ring, Ben noticed, that held a Templar Symbol.

'_Another knight.'_ Ben thought.

"That's right." Ben said, "Okay, here's what I want. Dr. Chase gets off completely clean, not even a little post-it on her service record."

"Go on."

"I want the credit for the find to go to the entire Gates family with the assistance of Riley, Katie, Etta, Erica, and Abby."

"And what about you?" Sadusky asked.

"I really would love not to go to prison. I can't even begin to describe how much I would love to not go to prison."

"Someone's got to go to prison, Ben." Sadusky said smiling.

"Well, if you've got a helicopter, I think I help with that."

* * *

The girls waited anxiously, waiting for any news of their friend. A waiting room had never seemed so cold and uninviting to the girls. But then again, a best friend's life had never hung in the balance. Ben had returned from Boston an hour ago and he and Abigail were trying to comfort Riley.

"Ha. Remember when we went to Charleston in the 8th grade?" Katie said.

"Yeah, we made up that song about the boat." Etta laughed.

"We had so much fun that day." Erica sighed.

"Abby took all those pictures." Etta giggled.

"Remember the thug picture?" Erica chuckled.

"Remember? It's my desktop!" Katie exclaimed.

"You think," Etta dropped her voice to a whisper, "You think if she… you know… when we leave the movie, she'll be ok?"

"Well I don't have a lot of experience in this field." Erica snarked.

They dropped the subject as their fellow treasure hunters came over. Abigail sat next to Katie and took her hand comfortingly.

"Do you guys think she'll be ok?" Riley asked.

"I-I honestly don't know, Riley. I really don't." Katie choked out. Tears welled up in her eyes as Riley collapsed onto his knees in front of her, burying his face in his arms, his head in her lap. Etta put an arm around Erica and buried her face in her shoulder, both girls fighting the urge to cry. Abigail placed a hand on Ben's back and the other around Katie's shoulder. Ben put a comforting hand on Riley's shoulder, gently rubbing his back. For that one moment, they weren't a ragtag team thrown together few days ago.

They were just friends.


	13. Chapter 13

**Part 13**

3 Months Later

Slits of sunlight streamed through the blinds and into the quiet living room of one Riley Poole. He lay on his couch, still in the haze of waking up. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to the top of his girlfriend's head.

"Morning." Abby mumbled.

"_Good_ morning." Riley corrected.

"What's makes this morning so good?"

"Waking up next to you."

"Well that would make it a good morning." She laughed sitting up.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah, I think I might be cured." She said grinning. For the past three months, Abby had been having nightmares about Ian that left her shaking and crying. Not to mention Riley had gotten more than a few bruises trying to wake her up. It was nice to hear those nightmares getting fewer and farther between.

"I can't believe you're leaving today." Riley groaned, following her into the kitchen.

"I told you. I have to go back home to take care of some things." Abby said, as she put some eggs in a frying pan.

"When will you be coming back?" he asked for the millionth time. He wrapped his arms around her as she got out a plate.

'When the sequel comes out on DVD.' She thought.

"I don't know Riley." She said, "Oh don't forget we're going to Ben's today."

"I'm going to miss you." He murmured, pressing kisses against her neck.

"Probably not as much as you think." She sighed, thinking about the girls he flirted with in the sequel.

"Oh I will. In fact, I'm gonna make sure you don't forget me."

"Oh really?" she asked turning to face him and putting her hands on her hips. She arched an eyebrow and smirked. "How's that?"

"I can think of a few ways." He said grinning.

Three missed calls and one batch of very, _very_ burned eggs later; they were speeding down the street in Riley's hot new car.

* * *

Meanwhile

Katie awoke late in the day to her quiet apartment. It was nice to not have to worry about getting ready for school or what her parent's schedule was so she could plan around that. But she had to admit she missed them quite a bit. She poured herself a cup of coffee and turned on the news as she got ready to go to Ben and Abigail's place. More pictures of herself and the rest of the gang flashed on the screen. She was seriously getting tired of all the publicity.

* * *

Meanwhile

"Who could get tired of all this publicity?" Erica asked as her and Etta sat down to the continental breakfast at Embassy Suites. She couldn't have thought of a better way to spend a fraction of her money than spending time being pampered at the hotel. People would come up to her all the time and she would sign autographs. She had even rubbed elbows with some pretty famous actors. Adam Pascal and Martin Luther McCoy to name a few. But it was the shopping at Gucci and other big stores that was really awe-inspiring for her. She kept a small portion of her money in the bank.

Etta, on the other hand, put half of her money away, not spending an absurd amount. She had joined Erica in her stay at this hotel (getting her own suite, of course) and treated herself to one or two luxurious vacations. She had to admit, the perks of treasure hunting were great. Take, for instance, the cute bell hop that kept catching her eye…

"I have no idea." Etta responded as she took a sip of her orange juice. "We have to head over to Ben and Abigail's after this, remember."

"Yeah, yeah I know."

* * *

When Riley and Abby pulled up at Ben's house, Katie, Erica, and Etta were sitting at a garden table with Ben and Abigail, listening to the couple discuss the renovations for the house.

"What took ya'll so long?" Erica asked.

"Erm…business." Abby replied.

"What business?"

"It's business that's none of your business." She shot back.

Ben and Abigail exchanged knowing glances as Riley's cell phone rang.

"I can't believe you guys have to go. I mean, there are still museums to go see-" Abigail began.

"And parties to attend where Erica drinks way too much champagne and Katie complains about wearing formal attire." Etta finished.

"HEY!" the girls in question cried at once.

"Hate to break up this love fest but they want us in Cairo next week for the opening of the exhibit. They're sending a private jet." Riley said.

"You know, those words never get old." Erica said.

"Yeah, big whoop. Could've had a whole fleet of private jets. Ten percent, Ben. They offered you ten percent and you turned them down."

"Riley, we've been over this. It was too much, I couldn't accept it." Ben said.

"We got two percent." Etta said.

"Yeah, divided among you and Katie and Ben and Abigail and so on. Look at this; I actually have this splinter that's been festering for 3 months from an old piece of wood." Riley held up his hand like a hurt two year old.

"And that warrants ten percent?" Abby asked.

"I'll tell you what. The next time we find a treasure that redefines history for all mankind; you make the call on finder's fee." Ben said.

"That's funny. What do you care? You got Abigail."

"And you got Abby."

"How ironic is that?" Erica asked.

"Fine. Enjoy your spoils." Riley said, jumping into his Ferrari. "While I sit on two percent. Two stinking percent. Part of two percent, actually. Two percent."

"I'm sorry for your suffering." Ben laughed.

"For the record, Ben, I like the house." Riley said.

"You know, I chose this estate because in 1812, Charles Carroll-" Ben began.

"Yeah, someone who did something in history and had fun. Great, wonderful." Riley slid his sunglasses on. "Could've had a bigger house."

Abby leaned over the driver's side door and kissed Riley deeply.

"I'm gonna miss you."

"I got you something." He said, "Hold out your hand."

She did as she was told and Riley dropped a necklace on it.

"What's this?" she asked, peering at the men's ring on it.

"It prolly doesn't mean much but it's my class ring from when I was in high-" he was cut off by Abby's lips slamming down on his.

"This goodbye?" she asked when she finally pulled away.

"Nah. Not by a long shot."

And that was when the blinding light stepped in.

* * *

The four girls woke up to see the credit's rolling. They looked around the room, half expecting to still be in Ben's front yard. The glasses of soda had gone warm and the popcorn wasn't steaming anymore but the girls could care less.

"There's no way it was a dream!" Erica said, voicing what all the girls were thinking.

"Not if we all had the same dream." Katie agreed.

"But it's not possible-" Etta began.

"Guys." Abby said.

"-there's no way it really-"

"Guys!" Abby said louder.

The three looked over at their friend. Dangling from her hand was a silver chain. On the end was an old class ring.

"So…" Abby said, clasping the necklace around her neck. "What movie should we watch next?"


End file.
